Finding Your Talent
by ShadowContrast
Summary: The daycare pets at The Littlest Pet Shop don't exactly give the new pet a warm welcome, but Penny Ling knows how it feels to be excluded and looked down upon so maybe she can help this scaredy cat to settle in and find who he truly is.
1. Chapter 1

**Finding Your Talent.**

Rumours spread quickly in The Littlest Pet Shop so it wasn't long before everyone was talking about the new pet that was rumoured to be turning up. As is normally the way with rumours, when Penny Ling came to Blythe with news of what she had heard the other pets talking about, the actual truth was somewhat different to the rumours.

"Blythe, Russell said that we are all going to be gobbled up because Mrs. T. is bringing a horrible animal in that sucks blood and sleeps all day and can turn into a person when we aren't looking. Are people allowed to stay at the daycare if they don't work for Mrs. T.? I tried to ask Russell but he told me to go away, so I tried to speak to Zoe but she didn't have time to speak to me, so I asked Sunil, and he got scared, so I went to Minka and she..." began Penny Ling, but Blythe cut her off.

"Wait... what... sucks blood? Turns into a person? What are you talking about?" Said Blythe, somewhat confused by the little panda.

"The new pet" said Penny. Nobody seemed to understand her in this shop. Either that or they didn't have the time to try.

"Oh!" exclaimed Blythe. "A cat! Not a bat! And especially not a vampire bat! Just a sweet little kitten that has nowhere to live. Where did you hear that from, anyway?"

"Oh... Russell called a meeting this morning and Zoe said that she overheard Mrs. T. talking to a woman in a pretty dress, and the woman in the pretty dress said that she had a bat that she couldn't take care of any more because she was too busy to look after her and she worked all of the time so couldn't feed her. So she was coming here to eat us." Penny explained.

"Riiiiight... well maybe you should tell the others that Zoe must have misheard. Not the first time that has happened, is it?" asked Blythe as she re-stocked the pet food shelves.

"As if they would ever listen to me" Penny mumbled, shuffling away.

Hours later and Penny Ling was still stood alone in the pet shop twirling her ribbons around and humming to herself when Russel wondered up to her.

"What are you doing out here? We are all hiding at the top of the slide so the bat doesn't eat us!" he said.

"She isn't a cat, she is a bat, and she won't eat us" Penny replied, but Russel was having none of it, and he ran off to hide with the other pets just as the door of the shop jingled, and a stressed-looking lady in a pretty dress arrived with a stressed-looking cat with a pretty collar under her arms.

Penny stuck her head around the day care door to hear what the lady was saying to Mrs. T..

"Thank you for taking care of my little Blossom- she is such a lovely little thing, and I hate hate hate not being able to give her the love and attention that she deserves!" said the lady in the pretty dress, but Penny knew that she didn't mean it. She could see it in her eyes.

The little cat struggled free and ran into a corner of the pet shop, her sapphire encrusted collar shining in the artificial glow of the shop. It matched her eyes. Minka would love it.

The terrified cat's owner edged towards the bundle of white fur that was curled up under the collar display, "come on, sweetie, mummy is going home now, come say bye to mummy" she said, peering under the display.

With her snowy fur standing on end, the cat backed up against the wall, not wanting to be anywhere near "mummy", and eventually mummy got the hint. "Right, I am late for work as it is, so I must dash. Thank you for taking care of my little treasure" she said, and with a quick smile at Mrs. T. she whisked out of the door, leaving behind her startled pet, that was definitely a cat, and not a bat, Penny thought with a smile.


	2. Chapter 2

The Littlest Pet Shop door tinkled and Blythe strolled in with her sketch book under her arm. Mrs. T. was peering under the collar display trying to coax out the little white cat.

"What're you doing Mrs. T.?" Asked Blythe, confused. "Did a collar fall down the back? Here, let me." she said, bending down by her side and coming face to face with the cutest kitten that she had ever seen. Mrs. T. had pottered off to sort out the stock behind the till, so Blythe lowered her voice and whispered to the bundle of snowy white fur. "Hello little one, what's your name? Are you going to come out to meet the rest of the daycare pets?" she asked.

"P...p...people can't talk" mumbled the shocked kitten. "People can't talk" the poor kitten didn't know what to do.

"It's ok, really. I don't know why it happened, but a few weeks back I had an accident and hit my head, and ever since I have been able to understand animals. I get on so well with the daycare pets that I got given a job here. Please come out and meet the others? They are a lovely bunch, if a bit over-enthusiastic, so I am sure that they would love to meet you." Blythe put her hand by the cats head to check what was written on her collar. "Blossom?"

Blossom shivered. "It's Jimmy. Well. It was. My owner wanted a girl. When she picked me out of the litter, she thought I was a girl and wouldn't listen to what my previous owners said. So she got me "done" and has dressed me up and treated me like a girl ever since. You should see what she dresses me up in."

"Dresses you up? Oooooo!" said Blythe, with a sparkle in her eyes.

"No. No way" said the cat. "Not you as well?"

Blythe picked Jimmy up and placed him into the daycare area which was strangely empty. "Guys, where are you? Jimmy is here now- come and make him feel welcome! Zoe, are you going to do your song?" The room filled with an unpleasant smell, and that was the only reply that she got. "Ok, I'll leave you guys to it- I have stuff to do!" she said and disappeared out of the door. "Got some designing to do Mrs. T.- taking my lunch break now if that's ok!"

"Oh... but you've only just got here..." Bur Mrs. T. was too late.

Jimmy stood in the middle of the room, looking around at the pet play equipment. Judging by the tyre swing there was a monkey, but other than that the rest was a mystery, as the "lovely bunch" were nowhere to be seen. Jimmy sighed- he had always felt like an outcast, and it looked like things were not going to change now that he was here. He curled up behind a giant hamburger cushion and sulked, wishing that he could go to a place where he was accepted for once.

"Um... hi" he heard a voice say, and he looked up, right into the huge purple eyes of a panda. "I'm Penny Ling, what's your name?"

"M...my name's Jimmy... are you the only pet here?" said Jimmy, looking around- he swore the room started to smell strange again, and it seemed to be coming from the top of the slide...

"No, there are a few more pets, but they are somewhere else. Want to watch me do rhythmic ribbon dancing? It always cheers me up when I feel down, and you look like you could do with cheering up" said Penny, whirling and twirling her ribbons around.

"That's pretty" said Jimmy after a while. "I wish I could do something like that, but when I am sad I just sulk. I can't help it."

"Sometimes Sunil gets sad, but he does magic to cheer him up. He isn't really very good at it though..." said Penny.

"Hey, I...mffh"

"Did that noise come from the slide? What was that? Who was that?" asked Jimmy.

"I think it's time for you to meet the others..." said Penny.


	3. Chapter 3

"Um... guys? See- he's harmless!" said Penny, ushering Jimmy towards the slide.

Muttering could clearly be heard coming from the little box above the slide and eventually Russell poked his head out mumbled something incoherent and stuck his head back in again. A few seconds later a brown spiky ball tumbled down the slide and a pink monkey's foot disappeared back into the hole. "Minka! Why did you..." began Russell, un-balling himself and looking up the slide Minka had pushed the hedgehog down the stairs and he was not very happy about it. Suddenly he remembered the reason that he didn't want to be down here in the first place. "... aaaagh!" he shouted, curling up into a ball again.

"Russel!" Penny Ling whined. She really was fed up of people not listening to her.

"Hey... where did he go?" mumbled Russel, poking his head out and looking around the shop. The cat had ran away, not wanting to make a fuss.

Penny's disappointment showed on her face, and she turned away from Russell, heading to the armchair. She needed to be alone.

Blythe ran into the store like a mini tornado. "Jimmy! Jimmy? Where are you?" she called out, looking around the room. Eventually she found him hidden in a box with a hole in it. "Hey little guy, I have something for you" she said, smiling. "Come out and I will show you."

Wearily, the cat climbed out of the box and stood before Blythe. "What?" he said, sounding glum.

"This!" she declared, proudly holding out a tiny navy blue suit with a crystal-studded collar and crystal buttons.

"Oh." Jimmy replied. "... thanks." He didn't sound like he meant it, but Blythe wasn't about to give up.

"If you wear this, your owner might realize that having a boy kitty isn't such a bad idea!" she said. "And I know you don't like it, but your mum probably will, and eventually we might be able to get you into the outfits that you like!"

"I... I guess that's a good idea" said Jimmy, with a trace of a smile playing over his lips.

Blythe gently picked up Jimmy and slipped the little suit on. "What do you think?" she asked him.

"You know, this might just work" he said, grinning and twirling around.

"Ooooooo! Shiny" came Minka's cheery voice, and she slid down the slide and bounded across to the cat in his new suit.

"I'll leave you guys to it" said Blythe, smiling as the other animals cautiously exited the box on the top of the slide.

They all gathered around Jimmy in his new suit and just looked at him. He looked good. Penny hopped off the armchair and joined the rest of the pets as they checked out his new suit, praising Blythe's latest efforts and discussing whether or not his owner would warm to it.


	4. Chapter 4

The pets had yet to find out whether or not Jimmy's owner would like his shiny new suit, but for the moment Jimmy didn't care- he was just so relieved that the other pets were talking to him.

There was no stopping Vinnie as he wriggled to the front of the pets surrounding Jimmy. "Hey, that suit is perfect! You know what it is perfect for? Dancing!" he said, twirling around and toppling over backwards as he tried to do the Moon Walk.

"Who's that?" asked a confused Jimmy.

"Yeah... that's Vinnie Terrio on the floor" said Penny.

"Oh no..." muttered the other pets in unison.

Well, all of them except Zoe who had jumped up to the pink stereo and flicked the switch "I'm gonna' tell you 'bowt a few things, so just watch me go, steal the show, sit on back and try to follow!" she sang to Jimmy while the other pets groaned inwardly and Pepper got ready for her part- there was no stopping Zoe now- she was in the zone, as it where.

When it was finally over, Vinnie tried again. "So yeah, as I was saying: dancing!"

"Um... I can't dance" said Jimmy. "I can't do much really." he mumbled.

"Nonsense!" said Zoe. "Everyone can do something! I can sing, Pepper makes people laugh and... well, you heard the song" she replied with enthusiasm.

"I'm not great at much, really" he said, scuffling at the ground with his foot and looking upset. "No wonder my owner is so ashamed of me."

"Well you are in luck, because today is the day you will learn to dance!"

As a matter of fact, today was not the day that Jimmy would learn to dance. His greatest efforts were even worse than Vinnie on a bad day. After an afternoon of crashing and tumbling all over the daycare area, Mrs T. popped her head around and threatened to put the pets in cages to stop them from fighting.

"Maybe dancing isn't your thing..." mused Vinnie, massaging a poorly elbow.

"Maybe not" agreed Jimmy, rubbing his head, "the floor is harder than it looks."

"Yeah, well it does take a bit of practice to become a pro like me!" Vinnie said, but was silenced by a cough from Zoe- not a great way to make someone feel better about themselves, it warned him.

"Maybe you should try something with less gusto and more grace. Although you have a lot of improvements to make when it comes to gracefulness- no offence" said Zoe. "Maybe Penny Ling can help you there?"

Penny stepped forward, blushing, ready to give her new friend lessons in rhythmic ribbon dancing. "Ok, um... put your foot there and point your toes. Next, hop from one foot to the other, like you are gliding through the air... um... not really like that" she said as Jimmy launched himself through the air and landed head first with a crash. It wasn't like he wasn't trying- he was just not very good. Penny and the rest of the pets clearly had their work set out for them, but Penny didn't want to give up on her new friend just yet. "Ok... um... let's just try walking with a glide, then maybe we can try a light jog, then moving from one foot to the other, then we can try it with ribbons..." she said quickly, more than a little flustered. It was going to take a while for Penny to hand over her ribbons to the clumsy little cat, regardless of how much she valued their new friendship.

Songs used in this chapter: "Let Me Introduce You to Everyone", The Hub.


End file.
